John newlen



April 22 1924.

J. NEWLEN EAR PROTECTOR FOR CAPS AND HELMETS Filed June 21, 1923 Patented Apr. 22, 1924.

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? j? i i Application filed June'21, 1923. Serial No. 846,790.

To all whom it mag concern Be it known that I, JOHNNEWLEN, a citizen'of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful'Impro-vements in Ear Protectors for Caps and Helmets; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

This invention relates to ear protectors and is particularly directed to an ear protector for head gear such, for instance, as caps and helmets. 7

Ear protectors have been made for caps and hats as a permanent attachment thereto, but it has been found desirable in certain types of head gear such as caps of the military order, for instance, and helmets, such as firemens helmets, to provide detachable ear protectors which co-operate with these types of head gear.

This invention, therefore, has for its object the provision of an ear protector adapted to be detachably attached to a cap such, for instance, as a military cap or a helmet in an inconspicuous and attractive manner, to provide an ear protector which is adapted to co-operate with the ordinary type of military cap without requiring any alterations whatsoever therein, and to provide an ear protector which will be held against the ears of the wearer in an effective manner.

Embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of ear protector as adapted for use on a military cap. I

Figure 2 illustrates a further form of the invention and is a section through a firemans helmet with the ear protector in position.

Figure 1 illustrates a military cap provided with a band portion 1, a visor 2 and buttons 3 upon the opposite sides of the band 1. i r

The ear protector comprises a closely woven or felted or similar piece of material t which is shaped to fit the back of the head and lap over the ears, as illustrated in Figure 1. The upper end of this fabric member is folded over to-provide a sheath 6 through which an elastic member 7 is free to slide. The elastic member is shorter when in its contracted condition than the length of the upper portion of the ear protector, and its ends are stitched to the ear protector as 11- lustrated at 8 and to eyelets 9 "so that the pricey JOHN NEWLEN, or MILWAUKEE, wrsconsrn.

terminals of this elastic member and the inner ends of the eyelets are attached to the body portion of the ear protectonfEA forward elastic band 10 is attached to the front edges of the ear protector and forms a'loop adaptedv to be passed either over the portion of the cap, as illustrated in Figure 1.

forehead of the wearer or over the forward i Obviously this elastic band may be of an desired width preferably being of a greater 1 width when used directly upon the forehead of the wearer.

In using the device the eyelets 9 are secured over the buttons 3 and the elastic member 7 will stretch and holdthe upper edge of the ear protector tightly against the band 1 of the cap. The elastic strap 10 will hold the forward portions of the ear protector close to the'sides of the head of the wearer.

In the form shown in Figure 2, the helmet 11 is provided with a metal band such as a resilient steel band 12. This band is car ried in a fabric sheath 13 which is provided at spaced points with cut out portions 14 adapted to receive metal hooks 15 carried by the ear protector 16. A convenient way of securing these metal hooks to the ear protector is by means of a metal band 17 encased in a sheath 18 formed at the upper edge of the ear protector. The hooks 15 may conveniently be riveted to this metal band and may project through suitable slots formed in sheath 18.

In using this last form of the device, the hooks 15 are passed over the band 12 and thus retain the ear protector 16 in position,the band 17 materially aiding in correctly positioning the device.

It willbe seen that ear protector has been provided which is. eminently suited for cooperative use with military caps and helmets or head gear ofsubstantially similar WP e. It will further be seen that the ear protectors may be very readily and quickly attached and will not mar the ornamental appearance of the head gear.

Through the specification and claims, the

term fabric has been used as designating not only woven or knitted fabric but also felted fabric and similar material, and it is tobe understood that although the invention has been describedwith considerable detail, it is to be limitedonly as claimed. 7

I claim:

1. The combination of a cap provided with side buttons, and an ear protector having a body portion adapted to extend over the back of the head and over the ears of the wearer and having an upper edge adapted to overlap the lower edge of the cap, an elastic member carried by said upper edge, and means carried by said elastic member and adapted to engage over said buttons.

2. The combination of a cap provided with side buttons, and an ear protector having a body portion adapted to extend over the back of the head and over the ears of the wearer and having an upper edge adapted to overlap the lower edge of the cap, an elastic member carried by said upper edge, means carried by said elastic member and adapted to engage over said buttons, an

20 elastic loop secured to the upper edge of the body portion of said ear protector, whereby said ear protector is held flatly against the head of the wearer.

3. The combination of a cap provided with side buttons, and an ear protector comprising a body portion adapted to extend over the rear of the head of the wearer and over the ears thereof, and having an upper sheath, an elastic member positioned within said sheath and having its ends secured to said body portion, eyelets vattached to said body portion adjacent the ends of said elastic members and adapted to be hooked over said buttons, and an elastic loop having its ends attached to the forward,

edges of said body portion.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing,

I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee,

in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin.

JOHN NEWLEN 

